Portable folding table



(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. LINSLEY & J. A BALDWIN.

' PORTABLE FOLDING TABLE.

No. 319,915. r E tented June 9,1885

. MZT?r-zEssEs. A. a? W% N. PETERS Phub-Uthognpher. Wllhlnglnn, D. C.

(No Model.) '2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

' J.-LI-NSLEY & J. A. BALDWIN.

PORTABLE FOLDING TABLE. o. 319,915. Patented June 9, 1885.

I Nrrnn STATES k ATENT union.

PORTABLE FOLDING TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,915, dated June 9, 1885.

-Applieaiiou filed January 30, 1895. (No model.)

i To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOEL LINsLEY and Jonson A. BALDWIN, citizens of the United States, residing at Burlington, in the county of Ghittenden and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Folding Tables, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

' tion of the table-leaf.

Our invention relates to improvements in portable folding tables, in which the entire top of the table consists of sections so hinged to eachother as to admit of their being folded together, and thus occupy the smallest space practicable, and be more convenient for transportation; and the objects of our improve ments are, first, to provide a more compact and less complicated mode of bracing the end legs, and confine their frames securely in an upright position when the table is in use by.

means of spring-bolts attached to the upper cross-bars of the frames; second, to afford a more substantial support than is usually given to the central portion of tables of this character, to which are attached elastic guards to prevent the leaves of the table from being elevated above a level position; and, third, to avoid the necessity of using strap or butt hinges, except to connect the top leaves with the central section of the table-top. We attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the table. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same, showing its under side. Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing in dotted lines the movement of the elastic metallic strap which limits the eleva- Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the leg brace and hinge. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the spring-stop, the dotted lines showing its position in the upper connectingbar of the leg-frames. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9 are detail views.

a, b, and cl are the several sections of the table-top, the two latter being so hinged to the former or central section that they will fold inwardly against the central supports or legs, G. When so folded, the table will occupy only the length of the leaves and the width of the central section, a, which will be only the space required for the three legs. The legs of the central support, G, are suitably framed together, and are rigidly attached to the under side of the section a.

c c are semicircular metallic braces, which are securely fastened to the under side of the table-leaves b d, near their side edges and outer the leg 0 and pass through a corresponding aperture near the centerof the'dianieter'of the metallic brace 0 adjacent to it, thus constituting a pintle upon which the end legframes can swing inward, as shown in Fig. 2. That the leg-frames may be readily secured in an upright position when they are swung outward from beneath the table-top, a recess, preferably V shape, is cut into the lower edge of the bar It, Fig. 6, midway between the legs 0 0. Into this recess a correspondinglyshaped fiat spring, j, is inserted, its ends being allowed to project a short distance beyond the face of the edge of the bar It. This spring is held 'in place by the pin 1), which is driven through the recess just above the bend of the spring. An aperture is made through each leg 0 on a line with the lower edge of the bar It, through which the stop or rod H is made to slide. This stop is loosely confined to the face of the lower edge of the bar It, and is of such length that when its handles it, which project at right angles with the rod far enough beyond the face of the bar It to be easily grasped by the hand, touch the ends of the spring j its extremity It will enter the holcss inthe circular rim of the brace 0, being held in this position by the outward pressure of the ends of the spring j. To withdraw the ends it from the holes 8, so as to allow the legs 00 to be folded beneath the leaves I) d, the handles t z are grasped and forced together. As soon as the hand is removed, the expanding force of the spring j pushes the ends it out as far as the spring mow'e'sl The rods'H H. are protected by a cap, M, which is suitably grooved to admit them, and is nailed to the lower edge of the bar It. A recess, N, is provided in its in- 5 terior edge, to allow the free horizontal movement of the handles i. If preferred, the springj may be made, as shown in Fig. 5, with the rod or stop handles i i projecting through a suitable recess in the top of the cap IO or molding M. When unfolded, the frame of the legs 0 is swung outwardly until the top of the bar is presses against the under surface of the leaves b d, at which point the spring-stops h h snap into the holes 8 s, and thus the legs I O are firmly retained in an upright position. M is a'flexible metallicstrap,which is hinged to the plate 1, attached to a block on the under side of the upper bar, n, of the frame of the central legs, G. Its outer extremity slides through a recess in the stop-block m, and terminates in a projection, 0, which prevents the end leaves of the table from being elevated above a horizontal position, and protects the leaf-hingesfrominjurious strain when the table is lifted at its extremities. Being elastic, it readily slides through the recess in the block m, when the table-leaf is folded down against the central supports, G.

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a folding table, the long end sections, 1) and d, having semicircular braces 0 attached to their under sides, to which the legs 0 O are pivoted by the strap-bolts h h, in combination with the narrow central section, a, having legs 5' G rigidly attached to its under side, the elastic straps M, hinged to theplate r, and constructed so as to slide in recesses in the stopblocks m as far as their ends 0, substantially as shown and described.

2. The spring-stops H, having projecting handles it, in combination with the frame-bar k and semicircular brace a, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a folding table, the metallic scmicir- 5 cular brace e, securely attached to the under side of a table-top by screws passing through ears f f, extending laterally and having apertures for the ends of the strap-bolts g and in its circular rim for the spring-stops]: h, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. The elastic metallic strap M, hinged to the plate 7- on the lower side of the bar a, in combination with the recessed stop m and hinged leaf of a table-top, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof we do affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses:

J as. A. HARVEY, CHARLES E. ALLEN. 

